06.22.09
Monday’s Water News: Oversight Board Proposed for Jefferson County (Ala.) Sewer System
In Alabama, Jefferson County officials have proposed an oversight board for the sewer system in an effort to get support from state lawmakers and creditors to solve its lingering sewer debt crisis. The county said the proposal is likely the last hope of reaching a solution that involves concessions to creditors.
Headlines
Amtrak halted all train service between Baltimore and Washington on Saturday because of a major water main break north of BWI that covered the tracks with mud.
City officials in Wichita, Kansas took bottled water to residents and businesses in a neighborhood that was without water after a ruptured water main.
The Muncie (Ind.) Sanitary District plans to borrow $9 million to clean up sewage overflow in northwest Jakes Creek and along the White River.
Stimulus Spotlight
The construction of a new wastewater treatment plant in the city of Prairie Grove is one of seven Arkansas clean water projects on a short list to get federal stimulus funding.
Sewer Rate News
Mesquite, Nevada
Milton-Freewater, Washington
05.11.09
Monday Headlines: Saginaw River Reaches Dubious Milestone
More than 1 billion gallons of partially treated sewage has been dumped into the Saginaw River so far this year according to the Bay City Times. The city of Saginaw has been the largest contributor of CSOs to the river with approximately 904 million gallons.
Headlines
16 Thomas County, Georgia families have until the end of this month to move their mobile homes because a 30-year-old sewer plant that violates health regulations needs to be closed for repairs. But the families who live there say they can’t afford to move.
A crack in a 24 inch main created a canal along a busy street in downtown Syracuse, flooding basements of some buildings and creating a headache for city work crews.
The Sewerage and Water Board of New Orleans says that a large portion of Eastern New Orleans will be experiencing low water pressure until further notice due to a break in a 50-inch water main.
Stimulus Spotlight
In Alabama, the cities of Birmingham and Montevallo are among a list of cities and communities set to receive a portion of $60 million in federal stimulus money for water and sewer projects.
Sewer Rate News
Marion, Ohio
Rewdwood City, California
05.07.09
Thursday Headlines: Allegheny County Estimates $30 Million Each for Projects
The Allegheny County Sanitary Authority (ALCOSAN) has issued draft recommendations for sewage and storm water control and treatment facilities along the Allegheny River and the Monongahela River. Both projects would cost approximately $30 million each.
Headlines
A Washington, D.C. neighborhood was experiencing traffic delays after a 100-year-old twenty-inch feeder main broke sending water and mud gushing down the road soaking nearby basements.
In Alabama, the Mobile Area Water and Sewer System (MAWSS) responded to a sanitary sewer overflow after approximately 2,000 gallons of wastewater overflowed as a result of a blockage caused by debris and a grease blockage.
Stimulus Spotlight
Kentucky utility districts in Boyd County and Greenup have been preliminarily approved to receive a combined total of nearly $2 million in federal stimulus funds to complete water and sewer projects.
Sewer Rate News
Fort Wayne, Indiana
West Branch, Michigan
05.05.09
Tuesday Headlines: Alabama Considers Help for Jefferson Cty. Sewer Debt
A push is on to get state lawmakers in Alabama to consider using excess money from Jefferson County’s one-cent sales tax for schools to pay for the county’s massive sewer debt.
Headlines
A ruptured sewer line pumping raw wastewater into a creek in northwest Davenport, Iowa was under repair today by public works crews. As a precaution, chlorine is being added three times rather than the usual two times during treatment. In addition, chlorine is being added at the inflow pipe.
Newton, Iowa is exploring its options to correct sewer backups occurring in a neighborhood during heavy rains. Last year, the city hired an engineering firm to update its wastewater Facility Plan Update. In its study the engineering firm indicated that the sewer system in the affected area did not have adequate capacity to handle peak flow during heavy rain storms.
A water main that sprang a leak early Monday morning along Route 42 in Dayton, Virginia has been repaired.
Stimulus Spotlight
The town of Stanley, Pennsylvania will receive $100,000 in federal economic stimulus funds to control inflow and infiltration problems with the sewer system.
Sewer Rate News
Crown Point, Indiana
Newton, Massachusetts
Washington County, Maryland
04.14.09
Tuesday Headlines: Suit Filed Against Benicia, Calif. for Sewer Overflows
A second lawsuit has been brought against the city of Benicia, California for sewer overflows. At issue in the case is a city sewer line that has backed up and overflowed into the plantiff’s side yard several times over the years.
Headlines
Portage Township, Michigan has received a grant from the USDA totaling 75 percent of the cost of the project to install a sewer line
Oregon environmental regulators have fined the city of Portland $16,000 for two failures in one of the city’s sewer lines last year.
Recent storms contributed in Baldwin County, Alabama to another sewer overflow after heavy rain swept through the area.
More than a mile of sewer line will be replaced under a bid approved by officials in Bowling Green, Kentucky on Monday.
Sewer Rate News
Mayville, Wisconsin
Quincy, Illinois
Riviera Beach, California
Sackets Harbor, New York
04.08.09
Wednesday Headlines: San Francisco Increasing Rates for Water, Sewer
San Francisco water and sewer rates are set to increase substantially in July unless a majority of property owners object to rate increases currently being proposed by the city’s Public Utilities Commission. The proposed rate increase would fund a $4.4 million improvement plan.
Headlines
The city of Newton, North Carolina is moving ahead with plans for $2 million in improvements to its water and sewer system despite uncertainty about how it will pay for the work.
Smyrna, Delaware is considering borrowing $10 million for as many as 11 projects through the state’s Water Pollution Control Revolving Fund and the USDA’s Rural Utilities Service water and environmental programs.
City directors in Fort Smith, Arkansas have set a June 9 special election asking voters to approve up to $30 million in revenue bonds and to extend two half-percent sales taxes for another 18 to continue rehabilitation of the city’s aging sewer system.
In the ongoing saga regarding Jefferson County, Alabama’s sewer debt, a federal judge has called for both sides to submit briefs in the county’s bid to block insurers from having a receiver appointed over its sewer operations.
Sewer Rate News
Catlin, Illinois
Cave Creek, Arizona
Oroville, California
Shelbyville, Indiana
03.31.09
Tuesday Headlines: Heavy Rain Causes Major Sewer Overflows in SW Alabama
In Southwest Alabama, heavy rain last week resulted in at least a million gallons of untreated sewage flooding into area creeks, rivers and ultimately Mobile Bay. Bacteria levels in local waters will remain above EPA standards for safe contact for the next several days.
Headlines
Water officials in Durham, North Carolina say a road will be closed for several hours today while crews work to repair a break in a 20-inch water main that is affecting 50-60 customers.
Officials in Lafayette, Indiana have declared a sewer emergency after it was discovered that a sewer pipe had deteriorated to half its normal size. The project could cost as much as $800,000 and will take several months to complete.
A city committee in Denton, Texas voted Monday to spend more than $200,000 in federal stimulus funds to replace a sewer line. Under the plan, the city would allocate a large share of its Community Development Block Grant funding from the economic stimulus for the project.
Planners in Lake Placid and the Adirondacks are learning just how stiff the competition is for federal stimulus water and sewer funding. So far, the state has received $11 billion worth of requests for the $216 million available.
Sewer Rate News
Bedford County, Virginia
Cape Coral, Florida
O’Fallon, Missouri
Phoenix, Arizona
03.25.09
Wednesday Headlines: Stimulus Funds Likely for Projects in Portsmouth, N.H.
Portsmouth, New Hampshire has received preliminary approval for $7.2 million in funding through the federal economic stimulus package for two infrastructure projects. The two projects expected to receive money are a continuation of a sewer separation project and replacement of a water treatment plant.
Headlines
Some Mayors in the state of Vermont are unhappy over which drinking water and wastewater projects are being funded with funds from the economic stimulus bill.
Alabama Governor Bob Riley has formally asked the White House to guarantee Jefferson County’s bonds as part of a debt-restructuring plan to solve the $3.9 billion sewer debt crisis.
According to the local utilities department in Charlotte, North Carolina, about 182,000 of partially-treated sewage spilled into a local creek on Saturday.
Classes at Cheyney Univerity in Pennsylvania were cancelled today and the campus was closed after a water main break today. The break prevented anyone on campus from drinking water from the tap or using it for bathing.
Sewer Rate News
Cape Charles, Virginia
Fairhope, Alabama
Huntington, West Virginia
Norwich, Connecticut
02.23.09
Monday Headlines: Outdated Infrastructure Causing Sewer Rates to Rise
The Associated Press ran a story this weekend on how sewer rates in Ohio and across the United States are climbing to help cover multimillion-dollar renovations of outdated infrastructure. Below is a quote from the story that accurately captures the sentiment in communities across the country.
“The feds aren’t helping,” said Rick Tilton, spokesman for the sewer district that serves Columbus. “It’s all on the rate payers.”
Columbus residents have seen double-digit rate increases in the past few years. Cincinnati has raised its rates by 12 percent and anticipates the same increase next year.
Headlines
James City County, Virginia has requested funds from the recently passed economic stimulus package to fund three shovel-ready water projects totaling $18.4 million.
Ironton, Ohio will pursue private funding for the design of the first phase of the city’s combined sewer overflow project. The storm sewer separation is required under a consent order issued last month by the EPA.
In Alabama, health officials are cautioning against swimming in or eating seafood from Mobile Bay after a sewage overflow Saturday morning.
A water main break in North Salt Lake, Utah caused a huge sinkhole on a residential street Monday. The break crated a sinkhole more than 6 feet deep and 20 feet wide.
Sewer Rate News
Lackawanna County, Pennsylvania
Lynn, Massachusetts
Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District
Saginaw, Michigan
02.02.09
Monday Headlines: NW Alabama Looks for Stimulus to Fund Projects
Local officials in Northwest Alabama have sent a list of 149 projects–including numerous water and wastewater projects totaling millions of dollars–to federal officials for consideration as part of the economic stimulus package. The project list compiled by the U.S. Conference of Mayors is for work that would be ”shovel-ready” within 180 days – with the majority of logistics and engineering work completed.
Headlines
In Empire, Oregon, approximately 500,000 gallons of partially treated sewage spilled last week from a treatment plant when pumps failed, closing Coos Bay to commercial shellfish harvesting. Despite the restirction on commercial fishing, recreational clam diggers continued harvesting along the beach next to the treatment plant, unaware of the spill.
According to a new Sierra Club study, nearly 97 million gallons of sewage has spilled into South Carolina’s rivers from wastewater treatment systems in the past decade, and the city of Columbia’s system is the worst offender.
An emergency meeting is set for tonight in the town of Westmoreland, New York to come up with a plan to fix a water main break underneath the New York State Thruway. The affected pipe is 165 feet long and is used to pump water to the town’s water tanks before distributing it to all of the water districts.
A street in Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin became a construction zone yesterday after a major water main break has left city crews scrambling to make repairs. The water on the road quickly turned to ice creating quite a mess.
Sewer Rate News
Dade City, Florida
Oakland County, Michigan
Waupun, Wisconsin
